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Thursday, October 16, 2014

This past week I wanted a quick side dish to go with our pork and potatoes. Remembering I had a bag of carrots in the fridge I grabbed them and whipped up this kid approved side. They were done in just 5 minutes. Can't beat that! The picture isn't the best, but you have to try these! They are awesome!

Some carrots, coconut oil, honey, pumpkin spice and 5 minutes is all you really need to make this tasty side.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

I have always enjoyed cooking in my crockpot/slowcooker, but this fall I have been hitting it pretty hard. In fact, it now has a permanent home on my kitchen counter. Crockpot meals are generally so simple to throw together and have such wonderful flavor. I love the added bonus of how amazing my house smells from them! I have been rounding up some recipes for you to try. I hope you enjoy them. Let me know your favorite!

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Halloween is just around the corner. My kids are already buzzing about what they will be this year. I told them they needed to use their imaginations and come up with something using items we have around the house. I will not be spending money on costumes this year. We rounded up some fun ideas for everyone in the family and are sharing them with you!

Sunday, September 14, 2014

It is BSA popcorn season again! That means I am up to my eyeballs in popcorn and popcorn themed events. Fortunately I was able to hand the position of Popcorn Kernel off this year, but I remain heavily involved due to my position as Committee Chair.

This year our Council chose "space" as the theme for popcorn. I admit that I was a just little bit excited when I heard this as there are so many things you can do around space. Right away I got to work putting together a skit that would cover our theme and explain the details of our sale. This is my favorite part about popcorn. I love interacting (or maybe just acting) with the Scouts. One of the mother's in our unit informed I am freak for how quickly I was able to put this together. I just smiled. When you love something, it just comes easily. My only regret is that I didn't get any pictures. :(

This is what our Kickoff Party looked like:

Invitations: Our Pack has about 80 boys, so we started out by sending a space themed evite to the unit. This really helps with getting a head count for the event and allows them to easily share details with others.

Food:Our Kernel ordered pizza and made up veggie, fruit, and cookie trays. Dinner was served while everyone was arriving.

Presentation: Boys need that "WOW" factor to really get them energized. Doing a really fun themed skit is a great way to get their attention. Here is the link for the printable Star Wars Skit! Our guys loved this! I think this may have been my all time favorite one to write! Be sure to add the special effects and come up with some type of costume. Most ours were very simple, just enough to tell who we were.

Fun: After the skit, we put on a space themed movie (Planet 51) and handed out glow sticks. We couldn't have a kickoff without popping some of our Trails End popcorn too. So we served this during the movie.

This was a pretty simple event to put together and requires very little prep time (except for maybe the skit.)

Hope you will use the skit and find this information useful! Your Scouts will enjoy this. Please let me know if you end up using it! What other themed skits would you like? If you have something specific let me know, I will be happy to write one for your unit for a nominal fee.

Monday, September 1, 2014

I am training to run a 5K in November. It will be my first. I am really nervous about it. I am not a runner, never have been. In fact, in high school I use to fake injuries to get out of gym class because of how much I despised running. So the question begs, why would I start running now at almost 37 years old? The truth is that I wanted something to challenge myself. Something I would really have to work at, and something I wasn't really sure that I would be able to complete. I chose well! Five weeks ago when I started, I could hardly make it through one sold minute of running without feeling like I would pass out and die. It took everything I had to push through that first week of training. Each time I run, I feel stronger and push myself a little harder.

This morning as I finished my intervals I was celebrating. While I am still a long way off from where I would like to be, I am nearly half way to my goal. During those times when I feel like giving up, I am reminded of Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through him who gives me strength." The words echo in my mind and I am reminded that my strength flows from the Lord. As a result I am so much stronger than what I think I am. These words encourage and motivate me to keep going.

While I have been applying them to my running, they can be applied to so many other aspects of life. No matter what you are going through right now, know that you are so much stronger than you believe. Set your mind to getting through, put your trust in the Lord, and take courage in His strength. It will carry you through the tough times because your strength comes from the Lord.

What goals have you set for yourself? How hard will you push to achieve them?